WIP Wednesday

It's Wednesday and I actually have some progress to show you this week, which is a really nice feeling after the last few weeks!

Completed this Week:

My Solids Swap package went in the post on Monday. This package has a little bit of a journey to its destination and I'm hoping that it doesn't take too long. I think my partner will be happy with it!

In Progress:

I managed to make progress on 2 big projects this week.

First up, I got all my pieces for the Stained QAL cut from my Little Apples FE bundle. Thanks everyone for your advice on the sashing options. Hadley suggested I use a yellow print rather than a solid and I think, after looking at it again last night, that this might be the best option, so I'm off to the local fabric shop after the school run this morning to try to see if I can find some yellow dotty fabric. I'm keeping the Coal as a reserve option, but my gut feeling is that it might be too dark for a little girl.

The other project I managed to move on was my Skittles quilt. The quilt police would be vastly unhappy with my backing on this one! I used a whole cloth piece of Klona solid, its a pale purple shade, and I had a Saffron Craig Magical Lands panel I wanted to work into it. But I didn't want the panel all in one piece, as there is so much movement in the quilt top. So I cut it into uneven pieces, echoing the shapes on the front, and then, instead of piecing them into the backing, I appliqued them on. I didn't have enough fabric to piece them, which was my main consideration, and I didn't want to order more. I actually am pretty happy with the result, even if it's the lazy woman's way out :-) I hate the way it looks all crinkly in this pic - its actually basted pretty well!

However, one of the reasons I didn't want to spend ages on the back was that I wanted to hand quilt this one. Once I had it backed, I quilted around the blocks using stitch in the ditch. Then I took it off to my sofa last night and got started on the hand quilting using a deep purple perle cotton. I love how its working!

This is a project I want to have to work on for a little while, so I'm in no rush to finish it. It's perfect for picking up on an evening I am to tired to do any sewing at my machine. And I love quilting with perle cotton. I just need to find  my thimble, as my finger is still sore this morning!

I'm linking up to Lee's WIP Wednesday. You should pop over there and visit the other talented ladies linking up!